Asir: Map & History
Asir, officially the Aseer Province, is a province of Saudi Arabia in southern Arabia.
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Asir, officially the Aseer Province, is a province of Saudi Arabia in southern Arabia. It has an area of 76,693 square kilometres (29,611 sq mi), and an estimated population of 2,024,285. Abha is its seat and second-largest city, after Khamis Mushait. Asir is bounded by the Mecca Province to the north and west, Al-Baha Province to the northwest, Riyadh Province to the northeast, Najran Province to the southeast, and Jazan Province and the Saada Governorate of Yemen to the south.
Modern Countries Once Part of Asir
At its mapped extent, Asir covered territory in 1 present-day country. The period shown is when the mapped borders include that country, and the note says how much of it.
Largest Present-Day Cities in Its Territory
Each opens on the live map inside Asir's borders of that time.
Derived by testing mapped cities against this polity's dated territorial polygons, so the list is indicative and follows the borders in the source dataset.
Asir in Depth
History
In 25 B.C., Aelius Gallus marched his legions south from Ancient Egypt on an expedition of 1,300 miles (2,100 kilometres), to take control of the ancient overland trade routes between the Mediterranean Sea and what is now Hadhramaut in Yemen. The Romans wanted control of those routes because they were desperate for money and hoped to raise some by capturing Marib, capital of Saba, and taking control of the trade in incense – then a priceless commodity – and other valuable aromatics. As it turned out, however, the expedition was a disaster and little information about Asir emerged.
When the First Saudi state was destroyed by the Ottoman Empire in 1818, the Asiris continued to fight the Ottoman Egypt forces in their region tenaciously.
Economy
Historically, Asir was known for producing coffee, wheat, alfalfa, barley, senna, and frankincense. Wheat was grown in the summer and sesame has been grown in wetter areas of the region. Straw was used to make mats, hats, and baskets while tribes in the area also wove tents from straw.
In 2019, the Saudi government launched an infrastructure development project in ʿAsir Region. The project is expected to cost more than 1 billion Saudi Riyals. The provided projects will include health care, transportation and municipal services. The project is in line with the Saudi Vision 2030 to diversify non-petroleum income and activate new resources in Saudi Arabia.
Geography
The Asir Province is situated on a high plateau that receives more rainfall than the rest of the country and contains the country's highest peaks, which rise to almost 3,000 metres (9,800 ft) at Jabal Soudah near Abha. Though data is exceedingly sparse and unreliable, the average annual rainfall in the highlands probably ranges from 300–500 millimetres (12–20 in). It falls in two rainy seasons, the chief one being in March and April, with some rain in the summer. Temperatures are very extreme, with diurnal temperature ranges in the highlands the greatest in the world. It is common for afternoon temperatures to be over 30 °C (86 °F), yet mornings can be extremely frosty and fog can cut visibility to near zero percent.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Asir (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Interactive map
Asir on the World War I map →
See Asir on the day-by-day map of World War I.
Asir Timeline
Key historical inflections from foundation to peak territorial expansion
Expansion to peak recorded area of 95,604 km² in 1922 CE.
Asir: Frequently Asked Questions
When did Asir exist?
Asir is dated to 1917 CE – 1923 CE, in the Industrial era.
What was the capital of Asir?
The capital of Asir was Abha.
How large was Asir at its peak?
At its peak in 1922 Asir covered about 95,604 km².
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